'Twas A Week Before School Starts

A week before school starts
and all through this place
not a school supply has been bought
sad looks on our face!
Our backpacks are hung,
in the same place that we left them
we can use them again
if we clean out the mayhem
My children are nestled
all snugged in their beds, 
with visions of surfing 
on waves in their heads
And I in my sadness 
that summer's now gone, 
toast a glass of red wine,
before Armageddon.... 
Now schedules, Now homework, 
Now Projects and Wishlists,
On backpacks, On lunches,
On Uniforms, On packed snacks! 
We'll hold onto summer 
for as long as we can
we're not ready for school
so we're making a plan
To make on this island
a place we call home,
so no matter the school year
our beach we can roam!

Day 40: Breathe, Seek, Play....Rise

What an extraordinary experience this journey during lent has been.  I have begun to focus, simplify and enjoy more of this gift of life than I have ever had before.  Over the past 40 days I have lived the sweet life, found that messy experiences can bring about sweet rewards, experienced a winter wonderland, the joys of captured moments, discovered things left unwritten, began to write with meaning, realized the joys in spilled milk, to dance, recognize the joy in ordinary days, be grateful for all the moments, to exhale, to play and play some more, to make the moments count, to surf daffodils (our version of stopping to smell the roses),  to be still,  to read, to throw our hands up on the roller coaster of life and enjoy the ride, to make my mark, realizing that sometimes you have to be lost to be found, the benefits of home,  how ironic things in life can be, what makes someone a super hero,  how to rest, how my life is like a beach,  that we all need a little luck, storing treasures in scrapbooks, that imperfection is bliss, to spring forward and push through the seasons of life, to have acceptance for things that you cannot change, to chase a maverick or two, to celebrate the changes, that kindness matters, finding kindness delivers you, and cheers up everyone, cannot be erased, can be the sweetest dessert in life, where you not only throw a stone that makes ripple but in the end you end up splashing everyone with the biggest cannonball...but the greatest lesson of lent is that no matter what life throws at you, if you have faith, family and friends you can RISE up and meet any challenge. And what I mean by RISE UP is that "you never stand taller than when you are on your knees to pray" <3 Amen! Happy Easter!

Day 39: Breath, Seek and Play.....Spring Fever.

Day 39: Breath, Seek and Play.....Spring Fever. Our Random Acts of Kindness have been delayed for today....spring fever has hit and the boys are going for a late evening swim ♥ We take our PLAY time very seriously! CANNONBALL!

Day 38: Breathe, Seek, Play....Random Act of Kindness Dessert Style.

Today was a crazy,chaotic day...pretty typical for our house. The kids had a half day of school, and we are now officially on Easter Break. We are so excited to spend some time a the coast but it seemed as much as I was moving in fast forward someone kept hitting the pause and rewind button today. Thankfully at the craziest times of today, angels stepped in to help smooth things over and keep me on my path. My mother in law was having the same kind of day and we shared many a good laugh over our Murphy's Law Kind of day. You know the kind of day when you walk into a room for something but can't remember what? Only to go into another room and you get clued in as to what you were looking for in the other room. The kind where you go to look for something and can't find it only to realize that it is right under your nose. The kind where you have so much on your mind you can't seem to focus on getting one thing done. Or the kind when you try to get the "one thing done" everything seems to unravel just as fast as you are getting it completed. It wasn't just one thing, it was a never ending colossal of a chaotic Murphy's Law waterfall. But this is normal, just today someone turned the craziness up on the spin cycle and time was not on my side. My mother in law suggested to go out for dinner, which was a fabulous idea since me in a kitchen today with my luck may have ended up with a call to the fire department! So out to dinner we went, aaaahhhhh finally to sit down and try not to think about all the things I still had yet to do. The server comes over and asked to take our order, I said I would like my mind, I seemed to have lost it! We all laughed...well, the kids didn't exactly get it, but we "big" kids have all known that kind of feeling. We enjoyed a lovely dinner and Elliott brought a book and Cooper brought a sketchbook to occupy their time so we could have an adult conversation. A table of three ladies sat down next to us and we all thought of getting them a dessert for our random act of kindness. They all ordered salad, and we thought maybe not...but then decided to press on. So Cooper opened up his sketch book to make a card. And one mishap after another, he dropped his papers under the table, then his pencil and trying to make it the card, it was more than obvious it would not be random and they would know it was us. The restaurant wasn't packed. I got up and said I'd go to the ladies room and scoured the restaurant for an unsuspecting table. There were not many to choose from, one looked like a business meeting, a birthday party getting ready to set up, and then a group of ladies that were having a great conversation caught my eye. We asked for a dessert menu and the boys, Grandma and I decided on the sweetest treat we'd never eat...because we were going to surprise someone else tonight. The boys drew ice cream cones and a sweet note. We ordered the brownie sundae because it was the biggest and that all the women could share it. The manager came over and asked us was one of the women the boys teacher. I said no, are they teachers...he said yes they just got off work. I said we don't know any of them....but that made it even sweeter to know we were surprising a group of teachers! The boys could not see them and wanted to know who was getting the yummy dessert. They both decided they had to go to the bathroom, curiosity getting the better of them. Around the corner they saw three of the ladies, two of them had stepped out for a moment....and we thought oh no, they may all be leaving. But the boys went to the restroom and the two ladies returned just in time for the server to bring the card and the ice cream brownie surprise. I heard one teacher say "Oh my this is so nice, please tell them we appreciate this". Our server seemed to enjoy this random surprise we had him deliver and smiled at us as we overheard the teachers asking him to bring more spoons! We went back to our table and filled Grandma in on how the delivery went. We knew we better scram before they discovered us, as we were the only table with kids in the restaurant. As we left the restaurant the boys wanted one more last look but as we scurried by the ladies were enjoying their sweet treat. It was Grandmas first Random Act of Kindness with us...and after our crazy, chaotic day we knew just how much that dessert meant to that deserving group of ladies...they deserved to be treated and reminded that what they do does make a difference. For a day when everything seemed to be going wrong, this was one of the things that went right!  Sometimes a sweet reward can come at just the right time, and change everything, even enjoying a dessert we'd never eat!

Day 37: Breathe, Seek, Play.....Random Act of Kindness the No. 2 Version

And before you can let your mind go in places it clearly shouldn't...we are talking about PENCILS! Today, the kids went on a field trip to the Tryon Palace in New Bern. I volunteered to go and chaperoned 11 students and had a blast watching them read and learn the whirlwind of information in the brief amount of time we had to explore the interactive historical part of the center. Last night we discussed that we would look for something to share with our classmates while on the field trip. We thought about the free magazine that they give out at the Visitor Center, but we overheard our teacher discussing that she wanted to be sure she picked them up on her way out. While the kids were eating lunch I went into the gift shop and browsed for what could we do that would be a nice treat for the class and be useful. I found bookmarks and pencils...and opted for the pencils. I had to get Cooper and Elliott's input and let their teacher in on it since she would have to take them back to the class. We thought it would represent a way for kids to make their mark and so many kids in their class need pencils (especially this time of year when resources start running low) However, the kids arrived back to school just as they were to be dismissed and had to go immediately to their bus or carpool line. So our random act of kindness will be fulfilled tomorrow when the class receives their postcard of the Tryon Palace tomorrow. I wish I had stumbled upon this story before I wrote the note on the postcard or else I would have written this have the teacher share with the class (I still may email it so she can read it to them tomorrow).

A pencil maker told the pencil 5 important lessons just before putting it in the box:
1. Everything you do you will always leave a mark.
2. You can always correct the mistakes you make.
3. What is important is what is inside of you.
4. In life, you will undergo painful sharpening which will only make you better.
5. To be the best pencil, you must allow yourself to be held and guided by the hand that holds you.

I asked the attendant at the visitor desk about the historical magazines and she said she would have a box of 125 brought down for the kids but the buses had already boarded and were leaving. So I waited for them to be brought down and carried them to the school and delivered them to the front office for the teachers to pass out tomorrow. So even a little gift, like a souvenir pencil...can go on to represent kindness in ways we may never know, maybe one of the kids will make their mark in writing or with a test...or maybe they will just enjoy the gift and the happiness the surprise tomorrow when they each get their pencil. All we do know is that Random Act of Kindness makes marks on our heart that can never be erased!

Day 36: Breathe, Seek, Play...Cup of Cheer our Random Act of Kindness.

Today's random act was inspired from yesterday.  We loved delivering a cheerful surprise to an unsuspecting individual.  I told them about the girl who wrote letters to people and how it cheered them up.  They loved the idea and I said we could give them a teabag.  Elliott at first was like "A teabag, why would anyone want a teabag?"  I said it has been very cold this spring and a lot of people have been sick with colds.  I explained to him that you can boil water and make it into tea and it is helps someone who has a sore throat.  I told him the quote about how we are like a teabag, we never know how strong we are until we are in hot water.  Cooper said we could make a card to put the teabag in.  We set out to look for a quote to put inside the card.  We found a really nice story about how the teabag relates to Easter.  It was beautifully written but was too long for our homemade cards.  We found two that we liked the best.  On the outside of the card Elliott wrote a Cup of Cheer and Cooper wrote Random Act of Kindness.  On the inside we cut and pasted "Life is like making tea!  Boil your ego, Evaporate your worries, Dilute your sorrows, Filter your mistakes, Taste the Happiness"  On the other side we cut and pasted  another quote "Remember the tea kettle is always up to its neck in hot water, Yet it still sings!" and we taped a Twinings English Breakfast Teabag in it's red envelope.  Our kitchen table was a Random Acts of Kindness assembly line, cutting and pasting, writing and taping.  We had 20 completed cards and decided to head out to spread a cup of cheer.  We thought about who would like tea, since not everyone does...I said we could go to the bookstore because many people there drink coffee and some enjoy tea.  We entered Barnes and Nobles and the boys had their bag of cards ready to go.  They walked to the cafe and took notice of the crowd.  I could tell they were nervous and stood beside them at the bookshelf closest to the cafe.  I spotted a table of three young ladies and said "you could make three people happy at one time".  I thought they were going to have a race for a second to get to them, when Elliott stopped and approached an older female reading a book by herself.  He walked up to her and said "Here's  A Cup of Cheer".  She smiled and said "Thank You".  He replied "You're Welcome" and was running off as I saw her face light up as she read the inside.  Cooper went up to a table with a Mom and two teens.  He decided that this was going to be his first table.  He passed out his cards and then they were excitedly searching for the next person who would get "cheered" up.  One by one, we went around Barnes and Noble, surprising someone reading, or searching for a book.  One lady even came and found us after and told us that was so sweet of us.  Elliott gave the three young ladies at the cafe our homemade cards, they were most likely college students, and they in return lavished him with thanks.  Cooper found a young man sitting at a table by himself and he said he chose him because he looked sad (because he had his face resting in his hand).  They boys stayed close to each other and would keep track of how many cards they had left to give out.  Sometimes, in all their excitement, they would try to cheer someone up twice!! It made for a great laugh for all of us, and many of the recipient began to watch the boys going around the store and they were watching the expressions on the faces of those who received a card.  It was a fun filled afternoon, creating and making cards, then delivering and watching the smiles...It was as if we shared the cup of cheer as we watched the happiness spread as quickly as we passed our cards out.  This kind of kindness was everyone's cup of tea!

Day 35: Breathe, Seek, Play....Kindness Delivered.

 We talked about what we would like to do for our random act of kindness. The boys immediately said "Ding Dong Ditch" but I overruled them since we didn't have anything ready to "ditch" at an unsuspecting neighbor. I told them one of our first things we did last year was buy someone coffee...but this time we'd do it with a twist. We called the store, Old Navy, and a young female answered the phone. We asked her name and could she help us with something. She said sure. We asked her did she drink Starbucks coffee. She replied yes. We asked her what was her favorite kind. She replied White Mocha Iced. We asked her would she be still working around 6:30. She replied she was there until 9:30. We get a sense she knows coffee is coming her way, but she has NO IDEA from who. We set off with our handmade card..We affixed stickers that said you are BRILLIANT, you are SUPER, you are MAGNIFICENT (the stickers were the words in all caps) on the inside of the card telling her that we hope she enjoyed her surprise and to pay it forward when she could. We get to Starbucks and go inside (it's been awhile for me, I was a bit lost with all the sizes and choices) I didn't see what she wanted on the board but asked the barista could she make one. She smiled and said yes, and asked what size..we choose Grande. Then we looked over and the boys wanted to pick something sweet to go with her coffee. We saw two cake pops, one chocolate covered in a chocolate shell with white sprinkles and the other birthday cake covered in a pink shell with white sprinkles. She placed them in a bag and we asked if she had a sticker but they were out of the Starbucks kind. I asked did they have a stapler and she said yes, so Cooper gave me the card and when she saw that we were trying to fix a card onto the bag she found a plain sticker that worked nicely! She then said "we have a broken birthday cake pop and we can't sell it" so she gave it to us! KINDNESS RETURNED! The boys wanted to eat it right away, but out the door we went. Elliott commented that there were a lot of people there on their computers. Cooper replied they are trying to learn about coffee or get jobs there. I laughed and gave them the low down on people in coffee shops are there to enjoy the atmosphere and coffee. Next we arrive at Old Navy. We wait in line, not sure if the store clerks in the front are our unsuspecting gift receiver. We ask if Lauren was there and the clerk said she was in the fitting room area. The boys gave her the cake pops in the bag with our note along with the coffee. The clerk said "where you the ones who called earlier, she was so excited thinking someone was bringing her coffee". Made us smile. We told her to take the coffee back to her and that way we could make our escape! We raced to our car as fast as we could...and as we drove off we managed to divide our broken cake pop into thirds....Delivering Kindness is a sweet reward ♥